<\/p>\n
For decades, Eric Vetro has been Hollywood\u2019s secret weapon \u2014 the man behind some of its most iconic voices. The Grammy-nominated vocal coach has guided everyone from Ariana Grande and John Legend to Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet and Reese Witherspoon, preparing them for the kinds of performances that define careers. If you\u2019ve heard a showstopping high note or a biopic singer who sounds impossibly authentic, chances are Vetro was in the room.<\/p>\n
But right now, his work is most visible in Wicked: For Good, the second installment of the blockbuster musical adaptation. Grande \u2014 a student he\u2019s worked with since she was a young teen \u2014 returns as Glinda, delivering the crystalline soprano and emotional precision that earned her an Oscar nomination. Her transformation into the Good Witch didn\u2019t happen overnight; it\u2019s the result of years of discipline, trust and technical evolution guided closely by Vetro. He also helped craft the buoyant, effortless tone of Jonathan Bailey\u2019s Fiyero, ensuring both performances feel as magical as they look onscreen.<\/p>\n
Still, Wicked is only one chapter in Vetro\u2019s far-reaching career. His influence stretches across generations \u2014 from Bette Midler to Gen Z stars like Benson Boone and Addison Rae \u2014 and he has helped actors like Jeremy Allen White, Austin Butler and Ren\u00e9e Zellweger embody musical legends onscreen. In this interview with Yahoo\u2019s Taryn Ryder, Vetro reflects on his work, the years-long evolution of Grande\u2019s voice and the student he calls \u201cthe Judy Garland of our time.\u201d<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve known Ariana since she was 13 \u2014 before Nickelodeon, before Victorious. I used to give her lessons over Skype from Los Angeles to Boca Raton. From day one, she was one of the most diligent, hardworking and wildly talented people I\u2019d ever met. She\u2019s always been that way. What\u2019s evolved is how much she\u2019s grown because she works at growing. She\u2019s constantly challenging herself to be better \u2014 and that\u2019s what makes her so extraordinary.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve talked about Wicked for years. It was her dream role. She used to say, \u201cSomeday, I just want to be part of that movie.\u201d So when it finally happened, it felt almost surreal \u2014 joyful in a way that\u2019s hard to describe. Watching her walk into that world, where she could use everything she\u2019s learned over the years, was an emotional experience for me.<\/p>\n
Vocally, the process was intense. Ariana wanted to sing as Glinda with complete authenticity. Not an impersonation of the Broadway version but her own take on the character. She could\u2019ve mimicked that sound easily; she can impersonate anyone. But she wanted to be Glinda, to live in that high soprano voice naturally. So we worked for months developing that part of her instrument \u2014 expanding the fullness of her upper register, finding an operatic resonance that still felt connected to her. She already had the range, but now those top notes bloom with this effortless, radiant quality.<\/p>\n
She also has the kind of pitch that\u2019s almost shocking. I can introduce a new exercise, and she\u2019ll pick it up instantly, perfectly in tune, every time. That\u2019s rare. In today\u2019s world, where so much is \u201cfixed in post,\u201d Ariana doesn\u2019t need it. What you hear is her.<\/p>\n
And she\u2019s fun \u2014 genuinely fun to work with. The most talented people usually are: They\u2019re smart, curious, creative and have a great sense of humor. She brings that same energy to the room. She\u2019d try “Popular” in 20 different comedic styles, just so the director had choices. She wanted to be overprepared.<\/p>\n
People often talk about \u201cAriana\u2019s real voice,\u201d and I always laugh a little. She has many voices \u2014 a deeper, sarcastic one, a higher speaking tone she uses to protect her cords and layers in between. When she was on Nickelodeon as Cat Valentine, the character voice wasn\u2019t easy on her vocal cords. I loved that character, but hearing her use her voice that way drove me crazy as her coach. I was very happy when that period ended.<\/p>\n
The first time I saw her as Glinda \u2014 especially her entrance in the bubble, hitting those big, glorious high notes \u2014 I had to hold back tears. In a private screening, I let myself cry, but at the premiere I was trying not to look like I\u2019d been sobbing. It was just pure joy watching her live out that dream.<\/p>\n
Working with Jonathan Bailey was equally special, but in a very different way. He\u2019s so much more than \u201cSexiest Man Alive.\u201d He\u2019s intelligent, thoughtful, funny and deeply compassionate \u2014 the kind of person who cares about the world and the people in it.<\/p>\n
Because he was splitting time between Bridgerton and Fellow Travelers, our focus was on keeping his voice healthy and effortless for \u201cDancing Through Life.\u201d That song can\u2019t sound strained; Fiyero starts the story as someone light and carefree, and his singing has to reflect that. We worked on making his sound as easy and natural as possible, so he could dance, move and sing all at once without losing that charm. He brought a beautiful complexity to the role that I can\u2019t wait for audiences to see in Part Two.<\/p>\n
When actors like Jeremy Allen White, Timoth\u00e9e\u00a0Chalamet or Austin Butler come to me for singing roles, we start from zero \u2014 just as students. First, they learn their own voice: how to breathe, how to place sound, how to trust what they hear. Only then do we start shaping the character\u2019s voice \u2014 Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Elvis. My philosophy is simple: No one wants to see an impersonation. The goal is to capture the essence of that person so fully that audiences forget they\u2019re watching Jeremy or Timoth\u00e9e at all.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ll never forget the day Jeremy sang \u201cI\u2019m On Fire.\u201d His posture shifted, his face changed \u2014 and suddenly I got chills. He was Bruce in that moment. Those are the moments you chase as a teacher.<\/p>\n
Whether it\u2019s Jeremy or Ariana, Bette or Ren\u00e9e, the common denominator is work ethic. The artists who last are the ones who stay open, keep learning and practice relentlessly. They may get insecure like anyone else, but instead of spiraling, they ask, \u201cShow me how to fix it.\u201d That\u2019s what separates the greats from the rest.<\/p>\n
With social media stars like Addison Rae, it\u2019s similar. People might think of her as a \u201cTikTok dancer,\u201d but she\u2019s a deeply creative person who visualizes everything \u2014 her sound, her look, her world. In another era, she would\u2019ve been a Disney or Nickelodeon star. Now artists build their own platforms. The medium has changed, not the ambition.<\/p>\n
In all cases, honesty is my approach. I tell people the truth \u2014 never to be harsh but to help. If they know you care, they\u2019ll take the note. Occasionally, someone can\u2019t. I once gave a small correction after a sound check, and I could see immediately the person was done for the day. (No, I don’t want to say who.) Maybe she\u2019d had a bad morning, maybe something else had happened. I try not to judge. We all have off days. But if someone truly doesn\u2019t want honesty, I\u2019m not the right teacher for them.<\/p>\n
When someone I coach wins or gets nominated for an Oscar or Grammy, of course it\u2019s thrilling. It means I did my job. But I try not to live for those moments. Awards are wonderful, but they\u2019re fleeting. Only one person wins; many deserve it. I focus on doing the best work I can each day with whoever\u2019s in front of me. The rest is extra.<\/p>\n
If I could have coached anyone from the past, I\u2019d say Frank Sinatra for his control and confidence, Billie Holiday for her emotional truth and Judy Garland for her vulnerability and magic. I always tell Ariana she\u2019s my Judy Garland \u2014 the Judy of this generation. There\u2019s that same rare mix of discipline, emotion and electricity. And like Judy, Ariana\u2019s one of those once-in-a-lifetime voices.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve been fortunate to brush against those legacies in other ways \u2014 Ren\u00e9e as Judy, Austin as Elvis, Jeremy as Bruce \u2014 so in a sense, I have worked with them. That\u2019s what I love about my job. I get to help great artists find their voices and, in the process, keep learning from them too.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For decades, Eric Vetro has been Hollywood\u2019s secret weapon \u2014 the man behind some of its most iconic voices. The Grammy-nominated vocal coach has guided everyone from Ariana Grande and John Legend to Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet and Reese Witherspoon, preparing them for the kinds of performances that define careers. If you\u2019ve heard a showstopping high note […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2172769,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25173],"tags":[24076,28851,307704,305572,357165,417742,370438],"class_list":["post-2172768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-artists","tag-ariana-grande","tag-bruce-springsteen","tag-jeremy-allen-white","tag-jonathan-bailey","tag-nickelodeon","tag-soprano-voice","tag-voice"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/How-did-Ariana-Grande-get-her-Glinda-voice-Im-the.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2172768","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2172768"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2172768\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2172770,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2172768\/revisions\/2172770"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2172769"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2172768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2172768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2172768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}